White: No return in sight for ill Lesnar

MANCHESTER, England -- Brock Lesnar will not be back in the UFC anytime soon, according to UFC president Dana White.

Speaking with the media after UFC 105, White indicated the heavyweight champion is very ill and will be out of action for the foreseeable future. He went on to state that an interim title match might need to be set up.

White did little to shed light on the specifics of Lesnar's condition, but he did say that the champion has been hospitalized.

"He's in a hospital up in North Dakota somewhere right now," said White. "He went to Canada and some bad stuff happened to him, so we've got to figure it out.

"He doesn't want to talk about it publicly, but he's in bad shape. He's not well and he's not going to be getting well anytime soon."

Lesnar pulled out of his Nov. 18 heavyweight title match with top contender Shane Carwin, and reports suggested he had swine flu. But when rumors began to circle about the rescheduled Jan. 2 date being in jeopardy, it was announced that Lesnar had mononucleosis and could be out even longer than originally thought.

Now, after White's comments, it is apparent that Lesnar is in more dire shape. He is not only suffering from mono but other ailments as well.

"He has other problems too," continued White, fielding a question about his diagnosis of mononucleosis. "He is not good. He is very, very sick and he's going to be out for a while."

White went on to state that the UFC would be doing everything in its power to help Lesnar.

"I am worried about it," said White of his biggest star's medical situation. "You know, I can't really talk about it right now, but he's in rough shape. He's in really bad shape and we're going to have to do some stuff to take care of this guy. He is not well and he's not getting any better.

"We're going to have to send him to the Mayo Clinic or to Scripps, or one of those really good hospitals to figure out what's wrong with this guy."